Unemployment in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia

Millions of people around the world lost their jobs over the past several months. Unfortunately, people are struggling to meet ends meet in many countries. However, some Latin American countries have to deal with numerous problems. Unemployment was a major problem even before the coronavirus pandemic. However, the pandemic created additional problems for the countries in the region. In Brazil, millions of employees more precisely a record 7.8 million people lost work between March and May. Based on the information provided by the country’s statistical agency, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IGBE).

Brazil is not the only country in Latin America that was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Chile, as well as Colombia, are also trying to overcome the coronavirus crisis.

According to the UN’s World Food Programme, the fallout from the pandemic had a tremendous impact on Latin America. Interestingly, IGBE put the figure of people who still work in Brazil at just 49.5%. It is worth noting that, for the first time in the historical survey series, the number of employed people fell below 50%. As a reminder, data collections dates back to 2012.

Moreover, economists are pointing to a historic economic recession in the country due to coronavirus. The state of the local economy was far from being ideal even before the coronavirus. Nevertheless, coronavirus has decimated an already struggling economy. Unfortunately, Brazil has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world.

Brazil and other Latin American countries

As stated above Chile is also trying to cope with the ongoing situation. The country’s unemployment rate from March to May reached 11.2%. Consequently, it is the highest level since 2010 according to the National Statistics Office.

Moreover, the population outside the labor force rose by 27.4% over a 12 month period. This result was largely influenced by people who were not looking for a job but were available to work forming the so-called potential workforce.

Importantly, before the pandemic, protests caused serious problems for the local economy. Chile is among to top ten countries when it comes to the number of coronavirus cases.

Colombia is another country that is struggling to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Importantly, before the pandemic, the country was boasting some of the highest growth rates in the region. In 2020, the unemployment rate in May nearly doubled to 21.4% compared to May 2019.

Governments of Brazil, Colombia, and Chile should work with local as well as international companies to create new jobs.